What Do I Know? by Michel De Montaigne

What Do I Know? by Michel De Montaigne

'Read Montaigne in order to live' - Gustave Flaubert

'I defy any reader of Montaigne not to put down the book at some point and say with incredulity: "How did he know all that about me?"' - The Times

A selection of Michel de Montaigne's most profound, searching essays, in a new translation and stunning edition featuring an introduction by Yiyun Li

'I myself am the subject of my book'. So wrote Montaigne in the introductory note to his Essays, the book that marked the birth of the modern essay form. In works of probing intelligence and idiosyncratic observation, Montaigne moved from intimate personal reflection to roving theories of the conduct of kings and cannibals, the effects of sorrow and fear, and the fallibility of human memory and judgement.

This new selection of Montaigne's most ingenious essays appears in a lucid new translation by the prize-winning David Coward. What Do I Know? offers the modern reader profound insight into a great Renaissance mind.

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was born on his family estate in Aquitaine, not far from Bordeaux. Raised speaking Greek and Latin, he studied law before embarking on a career of public service, first as a counselor of court in Périgueux and Bordeaux, then as a courtier to Charles IX. Following the death of his father, Montaigne retired from public life to the Tower of his château to read and write. He published the first two volumes of his landmark Essays in 1580, with a third following in 1588; the complete Essays appeared posthumously in 1595.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781782278832
ISBN 10	1782278834
Title	What Do I Know?
Author	Michel De Montaigne
Series	Pushkin Press Deluxe Classic
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pushkin Press
Year published	2025-10-23
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.